In the Eleventh Hour
by freevo
Summary: After a job goes south, each member of the team has to deal with the aftermatch.
1. Hardison & Parker

**A/N: **I'm just stretching my wings here people, so just bear with me. It can be read as Parker/Hardison but I was only going for friendship, it really doesn't matter though.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Leverage, TNT does.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Yeah, yeah, it was a freakin' clishé, he knew that. Sophie probably found it fitting though, all dramatic and exciting, y'know, right until the point it became soul crushingly depressing, but anyway, that was just Sophie for you. Him? He wasn't amused at all.

Especially now that said storm was raging around at a speed of 40 mph almost throwing him off the rooftop. The heavy rain certainly didn't help, making the already small ledge he was balancing on way too slippery for his liking.

He was totally awesome though, king of the ledges really, the stuff of legend even.

He only had to step around some kind of ornament to get to his desired destination but his left foot slipped and in the sudden movement to gain back his balance a bag of gummy frogs accidentally slipped out of his jacket's pocket to most likely land on some unsuspecting fellow on the ground.

"Who the hell puts freakin' stone gargoyles on a hospital roof? Seriously." he cursed under his breath.

There was no time to ponder the loss of the prized sweets though because he finally reached the soaking wet blonde wedged between the statues at the corner. Her legs were mindlessly hanging beside the building as she was quietly sitting there. She seemed distrought and shaken but not because of the 14 stories between her and certain death. No, she was truly in her element here hence the reason she picked this spot in the first place. Sitting on the edge, being seperated from the world below, it made her feel calm, let her think more clearly.

So that's why he didn't speak a word as he sat down next to her. He just waited. A couple of minutes passed like this without either of them breaking the silence.

"We shouldn't be here." Parker finally spoke up, her voice shaking.

He knew what she meant but he couldn't help it. "Oh, I absolutely agree, cause I ain't jumpin' after you or some crazy shit like that if the wind knocks you over, nuh-uh, I'm holding onto dear life, right here." he said practicly hugging the statue near him.

She ignored his fake dramatics along with the obvious attemp at lightening the mood and went on.

"He doesn't like hospitals."

"Well, this ain't gonna improve his opinion." he replied more out of reflex than conscious thinking. "Sorry." he added almost immediately. It was his way of dealing, she understood that.

"Look, Parker..." he was searching for the right words to let her know that he undertood her as well.

"I know what you're thinking but it wasn't your fault." It was true, shit happened, and she wasn't the only one blaming herself for it. He could just imagine Sophie having the same conversation with Eliot in the waiting area.

"I know, I just don't want to lose him." she paused for a second. "We just stole him back." she added.

He had to smile at the phrase but then she asked the question he was most dreading to hear.

"What if he dies?"

"Nah, he's gonna be fine, don't worry." he replied dismissingly.

"How can you know that for certain?" she challanged him with wide eyes staring into his own, searching his very soul for an answer he couldn't possibly give.

He wanted to reassure her more than anything, it shook his very being just to look at her like this, frightened, small, so unlike the Parker he came to know. The crazy girl who would hang off of buildings only by her fingertips with a wide smile on her face, who would sleep in elevator shafts without the smallest care in the world and who would keep poking Eliot's bruises to annoy him to no end. He wanted that Parker back, but he couldn't lie, not now, not ever, and especially not to her.

Then he thought about the man causing his current dilemma. He was the reason they first started to work together, the reason they became a team, no, they were more than a team now, that was clear and they owned that to him. And even though he had his issues with the man lately, he could still count on him, they all could. Eliot definitely respected him like he did nobody else, Sophie felt - well - lets just say she felt more than a friendly affection towards him, and for Parker, he was the second father she never had after Archie. So yes, there was really not much he could say to convince her or even himself that everything would turn out okay.

None the less, he had to try, so he reached out and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then he gazed deep into her eyes and answered her the only way he could and should.

"I can't, but _he's Nate_."

She contemplated his words as the storm raged on perfectly capturing her internal struggle. On one hand, he was right because Nate did had his own kind of superpowers, so just that, all on it's own should have been enough. However, she still couldn't shake the terrible feeling in her stomach, the feeling of despair and uncertainty, because in reality, it dind't matter how good he was or how much she cared, it was all out of their hands.

She let out a desperate sigh.

Then all of a sudden, the storm died down giving way to a fully blown moon shining through all of the clouds directly beaming at them as they were buried in each other's arms. She looked straigth at him, realizing in that fraction of a second that maybe, just maybe, there was still reason to hope.

At that exact moment, he caught the small flicker in her eyes, the sign of an upcoming change, the proof of some newfound faith.

"Besides, he gets shot all the time, it's his thing now." he added half-jokingly with reaffirmed conviction in his voice.

She smiled at him, truly smiled for the first time in a long time. His job was done, now it was all up to Nate.

"Come on, we should get back to the others, maybe they'll have an update." he was slowly easing himself up while he urged the thief to do the same. He was really itching to get back to more enclosed spaces but he caught a delayed hesitation in her features.

"Parker?"

"Right, you should go ahead, I'm just going to stay up here for a little longer." she replied still a bit unsure.

She was feeling better but clearly not ready to face any news yet so he lowered himself back down without saying another word. He would stay until she was ready to leave, and if Nate wouldn't pull through? Well, he wasn't sure what he would do then, but he would always be there for her.

Of that, he was certain.

**A/N:** Okay, so a oneshot for now, but I'm may be game for two more chapters with the rest of the team.


	2. Sophie & Eliot

**A/N: **I changed the summary to readjust it to the multi-chapterness. So the spotlight is on Sophie and Eliot here, but you get a little Nate/Sophie too, and even Hardison makes a cameo at the beginning.

Eliot was pissed.

He was pissed at their mark and his henchmen who shot Nate. He was pissed at Nate for letting the situation get so out of control that he would end up in the hospital. He was pissed at the doctors who refused to give any useful information on his condition. He was pissed at Hardison for chewing on his damn gummy frogs so loudly that the only people spared from the annoyance were coma patients and habitants of the morgue. He was pissed at Sophie for... well... he wasn't actually pissed at her but that was beside the point. He was pissed at himself for not staying longer afte... no, he had to stop himself there, there was no room for second-guessing, that kind of thinking just got people killed. So with that thought buried back deep into his mind there was ultimately only one other person left to be pissed at.

And boy, he was pissed at_ her_.

Their whole plan went south right after her crazy stunt with the horse. And what was up with her and horses anyway? Nevermind. He was going to kill her anyway, he just had to find the sneaky thief first.

"She's on the roof, man." Hardison interrupted his train of thought.

"What?"

"Parker. She's on the roof." Sophie added helpfully.

"How did you-" he started ask.

"Please, I'm a grifter, I read people." she answered in a slightly insulted tone.

"Plus, you had that murderous look on your face where you are counting the ways you could kill someone with a chopstick." Hardison added, which in return earned him said look.

"It's a very distinctive facial expression that's all I'm saying." he teased on. Eliot tensed up and stepped closer to make a point. "Uh-huh, especially so up close." Hardison added nervously realizing his previous mistake.

"Relax Hardison, I haven't killed anybody with a chopstick before-" Eliot eased up and paused for a second, "I have it reserved just for you." he added, then grinned evilly.

"Now you're just being hurtful, man. I'm just gonna go find Parker, she appreciates me far more than y'all." Hardison replied in a mock-hurt voice then headed for the staircase leading up to the roof. He was almost out of earshot when Eliot shouted after him. "That's only because she's insane!"

"What is she doing up there anyway?" he turned back to adress Sophie again.

"She's worried about Nate just like the rest of us, hanging off buildings relaxes her."

"There's something wrong with her."

"Come on, we both know you don't really want to kill her."

"Maybe, but she's defiently entering a world of pain when I get my hands on her." he said with sincere conviction in his voice.

"It wasn't her fault, Eliot." she tried to reason.

"Of course it was, she's crazy!" He knew he was being unfair but holding onto his anger helped him take off his mind of what was going on with Nate.

"Eliot." She sensed an underlying reason behind the hitter's harsh words so she tried to press the issue.

"And Nate letting her roam around _normal_ people? Did he lost his mind too? He should have known better than that!" he was letting his temper get the best of him.

"So what, you're blaming Nate now? Who's next? Me or Hardison?" she asked getting frustrated.

"No! It's just... fine..! I should have been there, it's my job to have your backs, to have his back but... I... I failed." There, he finally said it, no turning back now.

"There was nothing you could have done. You have to know that." her voice became soft and reassuring.

_There shoud have been._ But he knew Sophie was right, he knew it wasn't his fault, it wasn't even Parker's. Obviously her Hour of Crazy routine didn't help but it wasn't the direct cause of their current situation either. It was a combination of bud luck and even shittier luck. These things happened and in his line of work you've either got used to it or quitted. And because he obviously wasn't about to do the latter he needed to find a way to get back in control, vent his frustration in a more constructive way. So later he would find the thugs who did this to Nate and have a friendly little /chat/ with them. Yeah, it will do wonders, serve as a healthy, therapeutic way to deal with his anger issues. But for the time being he would stay here, make sure Nate was allright, only then would he do what needed to be done.

"You are right, it's just hard, I'm sorry I snapped at you." He waited for a moment to give her a chance to say something but when she stayed silent he asked her in an uncertain tone. "Are we okay?"

"Of course, silly." she replied without hesitation, breaking the seriousness of the situation. "We need to get out of this depressing room though and get some fresh air." she added enthusiastically.

"You want to go out into that hellish storm? Seriously?" he protested but he was actually all for the much needed change of scenery himself.

She playfully slapped his ass to get a move on. "Come on, chop-chop!"

"You are crazier than Parker." he muttered under his breath while smiling non-the-less.

* * *

The ice cold rain was cutting through Sophie's skin sending down shivers in her spine every time it made contact with it. They could have easily found some cover but for some reason neither of them was enclined to do so. Eliot offered her his jacket at some point but she politly declined it. She needed to feel the pain, wanted to be miserable because Nate wasn't sitting in a warm room in a nice chair with a coffee in hand, no, he was fighting for his life even in this very moment. So why would _she_ get to be comfortable? This felt right, more appropriate.

Until now Eliot was too busy struggling with his own demons to realize that coming outside was just as much for Sophie's benefit as it was for his own. She was so calm and collected earlier that he only now started to consider how the day's events really affected the grifter.

"How _you_ holding up?" he asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine." It wasn't the most convincing answer and you didn't have to be a con artist to realize that.

"No you're not, but that's okay." She nodded in defeat. "Look, whatever will happen-" he paused for emphasis. "we'll _all_ be here and we'll get through it _together_." He was hoping for the best but couldn't deny the possibility of the worst. It was the life he lived, somebody had to face the harsh facts.

"He will be fine, he promised." she protested, trying to dismiss the hidden suggestion behind Eliot's words.

"Sophie, that's not something he can..." he tried to argue but was interrupted before he could finish.

"I know he can't-" her tone was worried yet confident, "but I made sure he would be _highly motivated_." she perked up as she emphasised the last words.

"I would think not wanting to die is a pretty big motivation to begin with." he said unconvinced.

"Just trust me on this." she said it with a hint of mischievousness appearing in her voice.

"What did you do?" he now asked in a suspicion-filled voice finally catching that telling glint in her eyes. In response she cocked an eyebrow suggestively and playfully smiled which just made him even more invested in finding out. "Seriously, what did you do?"

She couldn't hide her amusement any longer but then her mind unwillingly went back to the past. Her smile soon faded and was replaced by a much darker expression.

_She was desperatly trying to keep pressure on the wound when he finally came back to consciousness._

_"You've been shot, try not to move. Help is on the way." she told him saving him the trouble to speak._

_"Parker?"_

_"She got out-" she answerd him then added for good measure, "but you are a bloody idiot."_

_"It was pretty stupid, wasn't it?"_

_She didn't degnify it with an answer, there was no need for more verbal abuse at this point, it could wait for later. And there would definitely be a later, she would make sure of it. So she decided this was as good time as any to inspect the damage more thoroughly. She lifted the makeshift bandage to get a better look at the entry wound but it deemed fruitless as it was still oozing too much blood for her to see anything._

_"So how it looks?" he asked coughing up some blood in the process._

_Well, that was clearly not a promising sign. Plus, no exit wound and way too much blood. Basically, things were getting very bad very fast._

_"They will patch you up in no time, good as new." both her voice and hands were shaking. For a world class grifter her attemp at lying was spectacularly lame, she simply chalked it up to being too messed up around Nate._

_"That bad, huh?" He wasn't stupid, he knew this was most likely it, his only regret was his cowardice for not telling her how he really felt._

_"Nate."_

_"It's okay." he tried to reassure her._

_"Promise me that you won't give up, that you will fight this, you have to be okay." She was getting desperate so when he didn't say anything she pressed on. "Just promise me, Nate."_

_"Soph." he couldn't deny her plea much longer, not when it caused her so much pain. But he was begging her not to make him do this, not to make him more of a liar he already was._

_Out of sudden desperation she did something she should have done a long time ago. She leaned down and kissed him fiercely as if both of their lives depended on it and at that point it almost felt like it did. After the kiss ended she whispered into his ear, only one word leaving her lips._

_Then he promised._

She got pulled out of the memory when Eliot gently touched her shoulder. She hasn't even realized she was holding back tears until that point.

"Sophie, you okay there?"

"That bastard still hasn't even worked off the slap..." she mumbled not expecting Eliot to understand the reference. Then she added for his benefit. "I'm fine, I was just thinking about the last thing I said to him, you know, before the ambulance got there."

"You told him your name." It was a statement of fact, nothing more. Sophie looked suprised at his sudden insight. His main job on the team may have been to hit people but nobody could say he couldn't read them too. All the signs were there and the silence on her part just reaffirmed it.

"I guess it's settled then." She looked at him puzzled waiting for him to clarify. "He wouldn't dare to die right after he finally tricked you into revealing your real name. He's neither that stupid nor that brave." he explained with a genuine smile appearing on his face.

She returned the smile, leaned closer and tenderly kissed him on the cheek then pulled him into a heartfelt hug. "You are a good man, Eliot Spencer."

_No, he's not._ But he appreciated the sentiment so he replied in a cheeky manner. "I always thought so."

Both of their spirits were lifted so there was no reason to stay in the pouring rain any longer.

"We should get back to-" Eliot started to suggest when he was suddenly whacked in the head by something. He leaned down to get a closer look at the object of his sudden misfortune.

"What the... gummy frogs?" he asked incrediously. Then he looked up to the general direction of the roof and realized what had happened.

"Dammit, Hardison!"

_It looked like things were already getting back to normal._

**A/N: **I'll write an epiloge eventually but I'm working on other stuff too, so it could take a while.


End file.
